The Book of Deaconhttps://www.bookofdeacon.com
The Official Website of The Book of Deacon SeriesThu, 21 Mar 2019 04:46:53 +0000en-UShourly1The Story of Sorrel Pre-Orderhttps://www.bookofdeacon.com/2019/03/20/the-story-of-sorrel-pre-order/
https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2019/03/20/the-story-of-sorrel-pre-order/#respondThu, 21 Mar 2019 04:46:53 +0000https://www.bookofdeacon.com/?p=2548Read more »]]>Hi folks! Check this out!

tl;dr: The Story of Sorrel is available for Pre-Order! It’ll be out April 9th.

Cover by Nick Deligaris (as if you didn’t know)

Fun fact, I tend to have at least one story in a file labeled “Travel Notes.” When I’m riding on the train or (more rarely) flying on a plane, I’ll add to that file. I never really expect that stuff to come to fruition. But I’ll be darned if The Story of Sorrel didn’t finish up.

What’s The Story of Sorrel, you ask? Well, if you’ve read The Rise of the Red Shadow, you know who Sorrel is. The Story of Sorrel is a tale that picks up shortly after her departure from The Rise of the Red Shadow. It’s a bit of a fairy tale. I was almost tempted to label it young adult, but there’s all sorts of weird, semi-official rules about what counts as young adult, so it’s good ol’ general audience.

The Story of Sorrel stands alone fairly well, but if you’ve read the rest of my stuff, you’ll find a strong connection to The Crescents. This effectively serves as a prequel to that book. So if that sounds good to you, pick it up! And if it sounds so very good that you just can’t bear to wait, head over to my Patreon. A Novella-tier pledge will get you a copy of it RIGHT NOW! (Along with a bunch of shorts.)

]]>https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2019/03/20/the-story-of-sorrel-pre-order/feed/0Indra Station Release!https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2019/01/30/indra-station-release/
https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2019/01/30/indra-station-release/#respondWed, 30 Jan 2019 17:56:18 +0000https://www.bookofdeacon.com/?p=2537Hey, folks! I’ve said it everywhere else, so I’ll make it quick here. Indra Station is available now!

Racing. Crime. Space. Weather. All four literary food groups, folks!

]]>https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2019/01/30/indra-station-release/feed/0Indra Station and other Late Updateshttps://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/12/16/indra-station-and-other-late-updates/
https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/12/16/indra-station-and-other-late-updates/#respondMon, 17 Dec 2018 04:50:35 +0000https://www.bookofdeacon.com/?p=2492Read more »]]>Boy, oh boy. It seems like I hardly ever update this web page. Time to correct that.

What’s been going on? First up, the stuff you’d care about.

Indra Station

Speaking of things that are long overdue, Indra Station, fifth installment to the Big Sigma series, is available for Pre-Order now!

Indra Station picks up shortly after Temporal Contingency leaves off. Lex is doing his best to get back into racing, thanks to the soon to open “ORIC”, a league set up by Nick Patel and run by his niece, Preethy Misra. Despite ostensibly giving her blessing, Michella’s none-too-pleased at Lex getting mixed up with people she sees only as organized criminals, so she puts her journalistic skills to work finding out what sort of dark underbelly this league has. The results are predictably pyrotechnic.

Indra Station releases on January 30th wherever ebooks are sold, but you can pick it up on pre-order from all the usual places. And one of those places (where you’ll actually get it early) is…

PATREON!

Yeah, yeah. I know. I talked about it in the last post. But if you missed it, here it is again. Consider supporting, particularly if you like short stories. So far there have been two, and a third one drops in a couple weeks!

What’s next?

I’m actually planning some new stuff for next year. I’d very much like to get six books (or so) out next year. Those would include, at the very least, a brand new series. It’s early enough in the process that it doesn’t even really have a name, but it’s Urban Fantasy, and there are sentient shadows. Stay tuned!

]]>https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/12/16/indra-station-and-other-late-updates/feed/0The Rogue Derelict Returns!https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/10/18/the-rogue-derelict-returns/
https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/10/18/the-rogue-derelict-returns/#respondThu, 18 Oct 2018 21:19:10 +0000https://www.bookofdeacon.com/?p=2487Read more »]]>The time has come. If you missed out on the Amazon exclusive Rogue Derelict run, and didn’t take advantage of the recent Bundle, then you can finally get your hands on this standalone entry to Lindsay Buroker’s Fallen Empire series. It’s available everywhere now!

Also, the first Patreon release hit patrons a little while ago.

Artwork is by Fablepaint

This is an origin story for the surly little aye-aye who keeps the Wind Breaker in the air. If you’d like a copy of it, support for $1 over at Patreon, or wait six months or so for it to be released as a perk or part of a collection.

]]>https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/10/18/the-rogue-derelict-returns/feed/0Big Announcements!https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/09/30/big-announcements/
https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/09/30/big-announcements/#respondSun, 30 Sep 2018 14:43:42 +0000https://www.bookofdeacon.com/?p=2482Read more »]]>Hi folks! Once again I continue the disturbing tendency to make my personal website the last place I announce things. (This is an excellent reason to sign up for the newsletter, by the way.) But better late than never! Let’s get into this. First and foremost!

A few days ago, I launched a Patreon page for my writing. If you’re not familiar, Patreon is a site that allows you to pledge money to your favorite creators. The money is paid either monthly or by creation, and in exchange for your support, you get special perks and goodies. And I’ve got one now!

What will the Patreon be?

In my case, the patreon will be a way for me to distribute my short stories. You may remember, earlier this year, I was releasing some of my shorter stuff as official releases. It was certainly one way to do it, but I realized that doing so would quickly flood my library with super short stories that LOOK like full titles. And though I love my short stuff, I’d really rather keep it distinct from the longer entries. Patreon will be my way to release those shorts on a monthly basis. Depending on your support level, I’ll send you download links to each new novel and novella too. You’ll basically be automatically pre-ordering all of my stuff. On top of that, you’ll get access to a discord chat I’ll have open on the side while I’m writing, and probably lots of other fun stuff as people request new perks and as I think of them. Sound good? Sign up! As little as a dollar will get you a new short story every month!

What will the Patreon NOT be?

A pay wall. Nothing that goes out to the Patreon supporters will be locked behind the patreon wall forever. Eventually everything in the Patreon will be released either as part of a collection or as a newsletter perk. This is only about getting the stuff early, getting it automatically, or just tossing some money in a tip jar to help keep me writing through the lean months of the year.

It also won’t be a get rich quick scheme. If you check out the patreon, you’ll see on the left side there’s a list of goals. On the off chance I reach certain funding thresholds, the extra cash will go to giving folks a better product. Custom covers for the short stories, internal illustrations. Self-narrated audio versions. The more time I can afford to spend making them better, the better they’ll get. This is about making good books, not about buying sports cars. (Although I make no promises that I won’t buy more hand made figurines of my characters if the budget permits.)

So, that’s that. If it sounds like something you’d like to support, please do! If not, that’s a-okay. Things’ll continue on for you like nothing had ever changed. The first Patreon release will be on October 17th, to coincide with…

Rogue Derelict Re-release!

By now you’ve heard me talk about it plenty of times, so I’ll keep it brief. I wrote a story in Lindsay Buroker’s Fallen Empire series as a part of Amazon’s Kindle Worlds program. The program ended, and Lindsay allowed me to republish it on my own. It’ll be out on October 17th, and you can find the pre-order here. People who prefer Kindle probably already have this, but this is the first time (outside of last month’s bundle) that non-Amazon readers can get their hands on it.

And then there’s Rustle and Eddy!

Another one I’ve talked about a bit, so just a reminder. A merman and his fairy buddy go on an adventure in the Crescent Sea. Available now!

]]>https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/09/30/big-announcements/feed/0The Best of Joseph R. Lallohttps://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/08/17/the-best-of-joseph-r-lallo/
https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/08/17/the-best-of-joseph-r-lallo/#respondFri, 17 Aug 2018 18:00:21 +0000https://www.bookofdeacon.com/?p=2474Read more »]]>I’ve got a brand new bundle at StoryBundle right now. It’s called the Best of Joseph R. Lallo Bundle

So many books! If you’re not familiar with StoryBundle, they’re a site that curates collections of books and makes them available for a limited time at a price of your choosing. If you hit certain levels, you get different amounts of goodies, and you can even choose to send a piece of your purchase to a charity. I’ve worked with them a bunch in the past, and it’s always been a great experience, so I’m happy to say that they offered me the opportunity let folks get their hands on a collection of stories that have been lucky enough to have been bundled in the past. You can visit the website for the details, but the short version is, until roundabout August 7th, you if you pay at least $25 you can get 17 full novels and a comic! Here are some of the highlights.

This bundle has three exclusives. Things that either haven’t been available in a neat little ereader-friendly package or haven’t been available anywhere but Amazon before.

The Adventures of Rustle and Eddy is the edited, polished, and published story of a merman and fairy friend who go on an adventure deep under the sea. Previously it was only available as a tumblr blog. Cover art (and, if I’m honest, a great deal of character design) by ViiStar.

Weird Nothing is a webcomic, updated semi-regularly, that has had its first four chapters collected for the bundle into a little digital comic! Written by me, art by Adam J. Hall.

Rogue Derelict is a (former) Kindle World’s novel in the Fallen Empire setting. Kindle Worlds, as the name would imply, is (no longer) an Amazon product, which meant that I couldn’t release it wide. Well, good news! Amazon’s Kindle Worlds doesn’t exist anymore! That means I can now (with Lindsay’s permission) sell the book everywhere. And the first place you can get it, is in the bundle.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “But Jo. I love your writing, because you are the greatest dude ever, so I already own all of your stories. Is there anything in this for ME?”

First, cut it out, you’re making me blush. And second, YES! There are three prizes on offer to everyone who buys a copy.

First, there’s these goodies!

Left to Right: Full 3D Print of Squee the Funk by Liz Landis, Faux Bronze Monkey-Toe Wrench by ViiStar and me, and hand painted Myn Bust by Leilia’s Clay Creations. You get all three if you’re the lucky winner. If you don’t get that, you could get this!

White (we’ll call them “unpainted”) versions of the same goodies!

And finally, there’s something called a tuckerization. That’s where you get to have a minor character named after you. One of the winners will get to help me pick the name for a character in the upcoming Big Sigma 5!

]]>https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/08/17/the-best-of-joseph-r-lallo/feed/0Cipher Hill is out now!https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/07/14/cipher-hill-is-out-now/
https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/07/14/cipher-hill-is-out-now/#respondSat, 14 Jul 2018 14:20:25 +0000http://www.bookofdeacon.com/?p=2469Hi! I’ll make it a quick one. You can buy Cipher Hill now! It is the fifth story in the Free-Wrench saga, and it is available wherever eBooks are sold!
]]>https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/07/14/cipher-hill-is-out-now/feed/0New Stuff!https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/05/21/new-stuff/
https://www.bookofdeacon.com/2018/05/21/new-stuff/#respondMon, 21 May 2018 18:52:03 +0000http://www.bookofdeacon.com/?p=2463Read more »]]>Let’s see. I haven’t updated the site in… four months!? Bad Jo. BAD JO! Boy, I’ve got some stuff to go over, huh?

Cipher Hill

The most important announcement is the pre-order of Cipher Hill! Newsletter subscribers already know about this, but I’d best put it here for latecomers and lookee-loos.

Cipher Hill is the fifth book in the Free-Wrench series. It follows hot on the heels of the plot of The Calderan Problem, and for the first time allows our heroes to go on the offensive rather than waiting around to be targets. The Book releases on July 11th wherever ebooks are sold, but if you’re really impatient, Apple once again has an exclusive early release on July 3rd. So if you want an extra week or so to read it, pick it up on iBooks!

The Poorly Planned Short Story Experiment

It had been my intention to release monthly short stories for an entire year. I made it about three months. Where did it all go wrong? Covers and edits, my friends. Covers and edits. I can pretty easily pump out a 15,000 word novella. Nominally it would take me between 3 and 6 days. But I am pathologically incapable of producing that many words, or even a whole sentence, without making errors. So I’d have to revise and get time with an editor. And I pride myself on good covers these days, so for a story to be recognizable on a store shelf as one of mine, I’d need a good cover.

The issue comes in the form of cost for those things, which could probably managed, and scheduling of those things, which it turns out could not. I simply couldn’t get enough time on artists’ and editors’ calendars to get a monthly release handled. I might try again and try to streamline the process a bit (I know plenty of authors who do near-monthly releases, so it CAN be done), but for now, I shelf the project after having released the following former Newsletter Perks wide:

Upcoming Bundle?

If you’ve missed out on some of my stuff, or have a hankering for some of my oddities that haven’t ever been released as eBooks, keep your eyes peeled in the coming months. A big fat bundle is coming. More details as they arise.

As you may know, from time to time I am lucky enough to be called upon by Jason over at StoryBundle to curate something. The most recent such bundle is a real doozy, and it’s going to run from today to Feb. 1st!

I’m calling this the Sci-Fi Series bundle because all of the books you see here are parts of larger worlds you can explore. And with the exception of my own addition, The Calderan Problem, they all represent the beginning of their series! Let’s see what stories we’ve got in this bundle, and what the critics and customers have to say about them:

Descent (The SpaceMan: Chronicles Book 2) by Tom Abrahams

“Fantastic continuation of one of the freshest post-apocalyptic/dystopian series out there. Tom Abrahams’ series delivers everything you could want from the genre, adding an entirely clever twist to the greater plot that I absolutely did not see coming. Descent takes on a whole new meaning, as the planet earth braces for an extinction level event. Highly recommended!”

– Author Steven Konkoly

SpaceMan (The SpaceMan Chronicles: Book 1) by Tom Abrahams

“Tom Abrahams is a master with this genre. In a plot paced just this side of orbital velocity, his not-so-ordinary spaceman –and the family he loves— battle a new and unique unknown that tests their resilience, courage, and love for one another, both on and off the planet. Failure to turn the pages of this book quickly is simply, “not an option!”

“Trader’s Honour is an enjoyable science fiction read. It’s low on technobabble and explicit sciencey stuff, although the worldbuilding is fairly solid. As such, I think it might also appeal to fantasy fans who don’t mind a few aeroplanes and a spot of interplanetary travel in their fiction. I highly recommend it to science fiction fans.”

– Tsana Dolichva

Watcher’s Web (Return of the Aghyrians: Book 1) by Patty Jansen

“The rich and powerful tapestry of world building captures the imagination and just doesn’t let go. The characters are full of life and complexity. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It is easy to identify with the peoples and through suspension of disbelief, this world was very real, as are the struggles being faced. Love books that make me think about what I would or wouldn’t do in that situation. Great strong female lead.”

– Amazon Review

Icarus by Matt Verish

“Well written, fast paced, and solidly crafted. An engaging tale of adventure that takes me back to the early works of past sci-fi masters from the days of John Campbell’s editing years.”

“Matt Versh is my new favorite author with the title ‘ICARUS’. If you like good, old-school sci-fi, then this is for you. A good storyline that grabs you from the very beginning. It’s one you just don’t want to put down, there are no dull moments. And, of course, I can hardly wait for the next installment. Get it and read it…there’ll be no regrets if you like action and a great plot that keeps your attention.”

– Amazon Review

Derelict (Halcyone Space: Book 1) by LJ Cohen

“Get on board Derelict, and you’ll take an edgy, nonstop flight into an audacious SF future with unremitting danger as your pilot — and thrilling adventure your destination.”

– Lynn Viehl, NYT best selling author of the Stardoc and Darkyn series

Relic of Sorrows (Fallen Empire: Book 4) by Lindsay Buroker

“I have read the first four books in this series in 5 days, and I’m having to physically restrain myself from launching into the fifth book. I love the characters, the pace is fast, and I’m completely hooked.”

“This series is one of the best classic sci-fi tales I’ve read in years. Author Buroker’s spare prose leads the reader deftly through an action-packed but character-driven story of loss, struggle and the aftermath of war. Yet the story has an upbeat feel to it, partially due to major characters who engage in the cheeky, ironic humor that we often see in “buddy” films. To add a twist, at the heart of the drama is a slowly developing, fragile love story.”

– Amazon Review

The Calderan Problem by Joseph R. Lallo

“Simply awesome as always! All of his books are very good and this series is one of the best. With The Calderan Problem just leaving me wanting more!”

– Ray, Goodreads

Irradiance (The Dream Guild Chronicles: Book 1) by David Bruns

“The premise and the plot of this book hooked me…kept me turning digital pages right to the end.”

– The Kindle Book Review

The Catalyst (Targon Tales: Book 1) by Chris Reher

“A wonderfully written space adventure that starts with action on page one and doesn’t stop until the last page. There are several twists and turns throughout, both in the story and in the characters. Worth the read, and it’s even one of those rare books I will probably re-read at some point and has earned a permanent place on my Kindle.”

– Goodreads review

Only Human (Targon Tales: Book 2) by Chris Reher

“I completely enjoyed this novel. The aspect that was a bit challenging was that I was unable to put it down! The characters were all interesting and well defined. The various alien characters were smoothly developed, rather than just dropped into the story. Many were likable and a natural part of the story, which was well developed and had a very logical flow to it. It is a riveting battle tale that will capture the reader in the mire of a well written story. I completely recommend this book to any sci-fi reader!”

– Amazon Review

I had loads of fun picking out these stories. The novels are fun, exciting, intriguing, and just plain good. If you’re not familiar with StoryBundle, it’s a great site! The bundles run for a limited time, and you can choose your own price, starting as low as a few dollars, and going up to as much as you think its worth. In exchange, you’ll get the base bundle or, if you pay enough, the bonus. These books are yours to keep, DRM free, and the authors get an equal share of the profits.

The gorgeous cover is, as always, by Nick Deligaris. And the original design of the wrench is courtesy of Viistar.

If you’ve paid close attention to how my releases work. you’ve probably been expecting this for quite some time. When I write a fourth book in a series, that means it’s time to include the first three in a collection, so folks don’t have to buy a stack of books to understand where the story has come from and where it is going. It’s happened with The Book of Deacon and Big Sigma. Now Free-Wrench gets its turn.

If you’re not familiar with the series, it’s my take on Steampunk. The story follows Nita Graus, an engineer from an idyllic island nation, Caldera. She leaves her home aboard Wind Breaker, an airship with an assortment of misfits who trade goods back and forth between Caldera and the mainland, a place called Rim. The continent has been blanketed by a toxic “fug” which has forced most people into the mountains to survive. A whole twisted race of people altered by the fug, known as the fug folk, have got the surface dwellers on a short leash. The series is largely about Nita and the crew attempting to break that leash.

In this collection, you get the first three books, Free-Wrench, Skykeep, and Ichor Well. They lead nicely to the fourth book (released earlier this year) called The Calderan Problem. Previously, the collections have also included some short stories that weren’t available individually. I’m not doing that this time. Why? Because I will just be making the short stories available individually! It struck me that making people buy the collection to get the short stuff was silly if they were already fans, and making them wait until the stories became newsletter perks wasn’t much better! So expect to see some Free-Wrench shorts hit the market in the coming months. Along with shorts from my other settings, and maybe even some new stuff!